Pneumatic arch support



June 17, 1952 F, BAR-ns 2,600,957

PNEUMATIC ARCH SUPPORT Filed Deo. 19, 1949 Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE PNEUMATIC ARCH SUPPORT Frank Bartis, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 19, 1949, Serial No. 133,796

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to pneumatic arch support units, and is particularly concerned with the provision of an improved arch support unit of the class described, which may be used in any pair of shoes by the user and which may be iniiated as much or as little as desired to secure the adequate support oi the arch of the user, depending upon the structure of his foot. One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved pneumatic arch support unit which provides adequate support for the arch of the user in the form of a pneumatic cushion which, as distinguished from the devices of the prior art, presents no possibility of any hard spots no matter how little or how much the device is inated.

Another object is the provision of an improved inflatable arch support, the air tube of which is formed or" live, resilient, soft rubber which is an integral part of the material of which the cushion is made so that the air tube extension presents no hard spots, nor are there any at the point where the air tube joins the pneumatic bag.

Another object is the provision of an improved inflatable cushion for supporting the arch of a user, in which the air filling tube is disposed longitudinally of the foot of the wearer in a suitable slot that is provided in a cork heel cushion,

' so that the rear end of the air tube is also available but it presents no hard'spots to the arch or any other part of the foot.

Another object is the provision of an improved device of the class described, which is suitably housed in a leather housing and which is provided with an auxiliary cushion on the inside of each arch made of sponge rubber for giving more solid support to abroken arch.

Another object is the provision of an improved air tube l'illing arrangement, in which a valve is provided which is made of soft rubber throughout, like the inflatable bag and tube, so that even the valve does not present any hard spots to the foot of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved inflatable arch support unit which is adjustable in its size to various wearers by means of the amount of ination, and which is durable so that it will outwear many pairs of shoes and which may be used for a long period of time without necessity for repair or replacement of any of its parts.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved inatable arch support unit, which retains its air indefinitely and which requires no attention from day to day except to be 2 placed properly inside the shoe with which it is worn.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, iny which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the single sheet of drawings accompanying the specication,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing the shoe and the bones of the foot in dotdash lines, with the present device shown in section along the plane of the line I-I of Figure 2;

Fig. 2 is a full size top plan View of the present pneumatic arch support unit;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view With the upper cover removed;

Figfi is a sectional View taken on the plane of the line e, looking in the direction of the arrows and showingI the device at maximum innation, with the auxiliary sponge rubber pad that is used for fallen arches; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing only the valve and tube.

The present inflatable air supporting member is preferably made in the form of a removable unit, indicated in its entirety by the numeral I 0. This removable unit includes upper and lower layers Il, i2, of smooth, tough leather which form a housing and which are stitched together along a line of stitching I3, extending all around the outer edge.

The size of this housing is slightly greater at its forward end than the inatable bag I4, so as to leave the boundary edge portion l5 available for the stitching. The shape of the unit is preferably similar to the insole of a shoe except that it terminates in a convexly curved line IB, forwardly of the ball of the foot and back of the toes.

The units are made in lefts and rights, and that shown in Figure 2 is a left unit. Thus the shape of the unit is substantially as follows:

It is substantially circular at its heel end as indicated at IB. rIhe sides I9 and 20 of the heel portion are circularly curved on a larger radius. On both sides of the instep, at the portions 2l and 22, the unit is `concavely curved at its edge on a long radius and the curvature is greater on the inside of the foot.

The concave curvature at 2l and 22 extends out to make the unit wider at 23 and 2li, where 3 it is again convexly curved on a short radius, and the part 24 extends farther to the inside than the part 23 does to the outside in order to provide adequate support under the bones of the foot for the full width of the foot.

The heel portion of the unit is provided with a cork cushion 25, seen in section in Figure 5, and extending from the point 23, which is a straight forward edge, backwardly over all of the heel part of the unit. Thus the cork pad 25 has side outlines I9 and 2l), substantially similar in shape to the upper and lower covers Il and l2 around the heel at i8, I9 and 2, but is smaller to leave the border portion l of the cover for stitching.

The cork pad 25 is in the form of two separate sections 25a and 25o, separated by a slot 2l which is wide enough to house the soft rubber tube 28 and the valve member 29. The cork being less soft than the rubber tube 28, the rubber tube and valve are thus concealed and enclosed in the cork heel portion 25 in such manner that they cannot be felt.

The inflatable bag Hi is preferably molded on a form which has a longitudinally extending stem or core that forms the inside bore Se of the tube 28, and the form is removed from the end 3| of the bag which is kept open during the molding operation.

The two edges of the open end 3l are then sealed together and thus an inflatable member is provided in which the tube and body are all in one integral piece of soft, live, resilient stretchable rubber.

The shape of the bag is such as to fit inside the covers Il and I2, extending substantially to the stitching, and the amount of space taken by the bag depends on its inflation. At its rear end the tube 28 supports the valve 29, which is also molded of the same soft, live, resilient rubber and comprises a cylindrical rubber member provided with a cylindrical filling bore 32 that terminates at a tapered end 33, which is closed except when the two inner halves 34 and 35 are spread apart at the split 33.

This spread is accomplished by shoving the metal stem of an inflating member into the bore 32 until it cams the inner end of the bore at 33 open by spreading the portions 34 and 35 at 36. The valve 29 is secured in the tube 28 by stretching the tube and shoving the valve into it, where it is resiliently gripped, but it may also be cemented in place.

The heel members 25a and 25h may also be cemented in place. The device may be inflated by blowing upon it with the mouth through the inflating member, and the iniiating member is removed when a proper amount of air has been inserted.

Figure 4 shows what appears to be a maximum amount of ination, but it must be remembered that this is a figure showing the state of affairs when the unit is not in the shoe, and the entire unit may be bulged upwardly and downwardly by the inflation when it is not in the shoe and bears no weight.

When the unit is placed in the shoe and bears weight the bottom of the unit conforms tothe inside of the sole and the top of the unit conforms to the shape of the foot, giving the arch support as required and flattening out beneath the ball of the foot substantially as shown in Figure l.

The unit also preferably includes an auxiliary sponge rubber pad 31, which has its maximum height at the inner edge 38 and which tapers down to a feather edge 39, beneath the inflatable member along the concave outline 39. This provides a user who has a fallen arch with the additional support that is necessary to keep the fallen arch in proper shape, and this auxiliary pad may be omitted when the arch is not fallen.

The operation of the present arch supporting unit is as follows:

The unit may be taken from a pair of shoes and placed in another as desired, and it may, of course, be made in suitable sizes to fit any person.

When inflated according to the taste of the user it will raise the arch as much as desired and give it adequate support, but it conforms to the shape of the bottom of the foot and gives the same unit pressure on the foot throughout the full area of the inflatable bag.

The user is in fact walking on air, and due to the heel construction, and the use of an integral soft, live rubber tube and valve there is no possibility of feeling any hard spots in the present unit, except that of course the heel is less resilient than the inflatable bag.

Such units have been tested and used by persons needing arch supports who find that their entire state of well being is changed by having the arch so supported. Persons who must be on their feet all day are thus enabled to carry on their useful occupation without the fatigue that is brought about when the present invention is not employed. v

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved removable arch supporting unit that may be inflated as desired by the user and may be used for many years in different pairs of shoes to relieve the fatigue that is usually present when the user has to be on his feet a great deal.

lIhe present inating arrangements are concealed yet accessible and they present no hard spots that may be felt by the user.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may `be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

A pneumatic arch support comprising a pair of smooth, thin, leather sheets, forming a housing and stitched together along a line adjacent the peripheries of said sheets, the said housing conforming substantially to the shape of an insole, which terminates back of the toes of the user, said housing having flat, spaced, cork heel pad portions located between said sheets at the heel end and spaced from each other to form a space for a filling tube, an arch supporting pad of sponge rubber positioned between said sheets on the inside of the arch portion and tapering inwardly and longitudinally from a thicker edge portion toward both ends of said arch supporting pad, an inflatable member comprising an integral molded member of soft, resilient sheet material, having an integral backwardly extending filling tube, and conforming substantially to the shape of the inside of said housing, in advance of said heel pad, and a valve comprising a soft, tubular, resilient member having a tapered bore ending at a cylindrical split end portion, said split end portion being held closed by the compression exerted 5 on it by a circumferentially extending end portion Number of said resilient filling tube. 1,435,602 FRANK BARTIS. 1,500,583 2,004,906 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,086,389 The following references are of record in the le of this partent: Number UNITED STATES PATENTS 148,313 Number Name Date 10 797,028

900,867 Miller Oct. 13, 1908 Name Date Hanson Nov. 14, 1922 Glanzer July 8, 1924 Simster June 11, 1935 Pearson July 6, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Austria Jan. 11, 1937 France Feb. 3, 1936 

